[ In all fairness, she often finds herself wondering the same thing. What if she'd simply let him be when she found his home frozen that day? What if she'd gotten help instead from someone better, like her father? ...But here they are.

At the very least, her reaction eases after a moment as he stands, though that does make his stature even more imposing as she looks up at him. ]

The bare minimum, I would say... Kazuma has allowed me to practise with a wooden sword we call a "bokken," but I believe he is only humoring me. [ She can tell he really doesn't like the idea of her using one more seriously. ] I suppose I can understand that.

But...